In March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations, with China playing a role as the host of the talks. This generated considerable discussion among policymakers and the scholarly community. Some believed this indicated a new change in China’s approach to the Middle East, which has primarily …

Evgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the private Russian military company Wagner Group, announced that he would hand over the positions of his mercenaries in Bakhmut to the troops of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov most likely can obtain all the necessary resources to take up Wagner’s positions in Bakhmut, Prigozhin …

De-dollarization now looks inevitable and threatens to become a national security concern, according to International Crisis Group co-chair Frank Giustra. A Business Insider report — “De-dollarization is no longer a matter of if, but when — and is a national security concern, says International Crisis Group cochair”, May 3, 2023, …

Numerous citizens who protested in front of the Ministry of Education after the tragedy in vladislav ribnikar elementary school demanded the resignation of Minister Branko Ruzic. The same demand was made by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, some trade unions, the opposition. President Aleksandar Vucic and Minister Ivica Dacic …

In early February, U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, introduced a resolution to halt all U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine. Later that month, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee decided to mark the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by launching an investigation into Washington’s aid …

Mirroring the demographic decline of the entire country, a massive and still-deepening population drop in the last 30 years will likely see Glamoc, a picturesque town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, empty completely. Squeezed between pastures and hills, and circled by green belts of forest, Glamoc sits in a lonesome mountainous …

At Russia’s Valdai Club meeting – the east’s answer to Davos – intellectuals and influencers gathered to frame West Asia’s current and future developments. The 12th “Middle East Conference” at the Valdai Club in Moscow offered a more than welcome cornucopia of views on interconnected troubles and tribulations affecting the …

Almost all private companies have now entered the “spy business.” In the old days, television and movie studios wanted to know what you watch; today, everybody wants to know what you watch, what you like, what you do, where you go, and with whom you go there. In turn, all …

Islamist parties are falling out of favor across the region, as leaders hope to offer economic benefits combined with authoritarianism. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, facing a difficult election on May 14, announced on April 30 that Turkish intelligence had killed Abu Hussein al-Quraishi — the latest self-styled “Islamic State …

On April 24, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concern” about the activities of Wagner Group mercenaries in Sudan and asserted that the Russian private military company (PMC) “simply brings more death and destruction wherever it is involved.” Blinken’s dire warning followed revelations from Sudanese and American officials …